It’s taken a village to build Hope Park, a playground in Frisco designed for children with special needs. But it was a mother’s ferocious love that transformed the park from wishful thinking to reality.

Hundreds have turned out at Frisco Commons park to volunteer for the community build, which organizers hope will be mostly finished on Monday. The final result will be a sensory-driven and wheelchair-accessible playground that allows children with disabilities to play alongside others.

“I’m very proud of all these people who came out to help,” said Jenni Jensen, whose determination fueled this effort inspired by her daughter, who turns 7 this month.

Nora is a sweet and sassy blond and blue-eyed girl with Down syndrome. When she was 4 and had a broken leg, she wanted to play at the park with her sister and older brothers. But her mother found she couldn’t maneuver Nora’s wheelchair through woodchips to get to the swings.

The idea for a special park quickly took off. Other Frisco moms with insight into the lives of children with disabilities brought their individual strengths. They meshed, and their passion became contagious.

“It’s amazing and eye-opening how noncompliant our world is to the special-needs community in every aspect,” said Andrea Sieling, whose daughter has cerebral palsy and a seizure disorder. “We were never able to go anywhere without major amounts of planning. I knew instantly I wanted to be part of the team.”

Among the features of the 15,000-square-foot park: Its rubberized surface will allow wheelchairs and walkers everywhere. There are ramps on the play structures, swings with harnesses and a merry-go-round with back supports. Enclosed plastic slides are designed for children who can’t support themselves. The metal slide is safe for those with cochlear implants, which can be damaged by static electricity generated by plastic slides.

The park also has multiple sensory panels low to the ground, a table with rollers for muscle stimulation and private cubbies for those needing less stimulation.

Planning the park took time. Fundraising took even more time. Board members toured existing parks with their kids to help decide what to put in their own playground. They ran into plenty of obstacles. Just weeks before construction, they were still tens of thousands of dollars short.

But these moms have been tenacious, said Mark Zimmerman, who joined their board last year. “Once I saw that, I knew it was going to happen.”

A major milestone came with their partnership with the city of Frisco, which donated the land at Frisco Commons park and gave $200,000 for construction materials. The joint venture also allowed Hope Park to be connected with Friendship Park, a 14-year-old community-built playground that is getting a makeover.

“We’ve been able to create what’s arguably one of the best parks in the state of Texas,” said Bryan Kennedy, who brought his civil engineering skills to the board.

Beyond the board were dozens of volunteers who served on committees and worked behind the scenes. By the time build week started on April 5, Hope Park had met its fundraising goal of $674,000. And once all the in-kind donations are totaled, collections will be well over $1 million.

“How in the world did we make all this happen?” Sieling asks. “It’s a beautiful thing.”

Moms and dads, grandparents, teens and friends came from all over North Texas to pitch in on the community build. Companies donated employees. Families brought relatives. Some volunteers traveled from as far away as Arkansas, Missouri and California.

Colleen Kugler, a board member who is in her 19th year as a special education teacher, offers a program to schools that simulates different disabilities so children can better understand them. The next level of learning is this park, which allows children of all abilities to play side by side.

“Never underestimate the power of play,” reads a plaque in Kugler’s office. That takes on new meaning with Hope Park. “Playing here is so much more,” she said.

Board member René Sinclair said the park has also become a way for the special-needs community to connect. “There have been so many families we’ve been able to touch that are super excited to come out and meet other families that have special needs,” Sinclair said.

Board member Shannon Swarbrick has shared Nora’s story countless times during her fundraising pitches. She said it always tugs at her heart. “Everybody has had that feeling of being left out,” she said. “But you shouldn’t feel left out at a park.”

A rubberized surface and finishing touches will be added to Hope Park over the next three weeks. Hope Park and Friendship Park will both open to the public on May 11.

For Jensen’s part, she’s thankful so many joined her journey that began long before Nora broke her leg. Jensen learned when she was 20 weeks pregnant that Nora would have Down syndrome. And as moms tend to do, she questioned what role she might have played in that. “I thought I did something wrong,” she said.

But then she turned to look at the dozens of volunteers busy with saws and drills and routers who came together to build Hope Park. She smiled.

“Now I know I did something right.”

To help

The community build for Hope Park, which was supposed to be finished Sunday, has been extended one day. Volunteers are needed from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday at Frisco Commons, 8000 McKinney Road in Frisco. Visit hopeparkfrisco.org to learn more

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